The Torture Chamber

Devices- gives information about the instruments used,and what they were used for.

The Dungeon-Gives information about what the dungeon atmosphere was like from a prisoners point of view. Also tells about popular dungeons in the middle ages.

Inquisition- Tells about the inquisition, giving examples, links, and primary sources.

Links- Gives different pages you can visit to gain more information on Medieval Torture. Also where we gained our information.

During the Middle Ages, Torture was a widely known punishment for almost all crimes committed, ranging from rape to murder, or most of all heresy. The type of punishment generally was based on what crime was committed and by whom. The thought of torture was so terrorizing that in certain cases, they would confess to the crime after merely seeing what type of torture was in store for them. One of the most common periods for torture was the Spanish Inquisition (1231-1532). The Spanish Inquisition, approv ed by Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I, was brought into action for the soul purpose of abolishing heresy from the Roman Catholic Church.

The following are different devices that were used during the Middle Ages to force people to confess:

The Rack	Wheel	The Boots	Heretics Fork	Impalement	The Spider
Branks	Pear	Ducking Stool	Pressing	Hanging	Thumb Screws
Breast Ripper	Strappado	The Garotte	Judas Cradle	The Saw

The most known form of torture. It is a table, often with spiked rollers for the victim to lay on. The victim would be tied to the rack and stretched for days at a time. In some cases, the victim would be stretched up to 12 inches. Often other types of torture would be inflicted while in this position. Red hot pinchers would tear off nipples, tongues, ears, noses, and genitals.

The brank was a metal mask that went over the victim. A mouth piece would fit inside the mouth of the victim disabling them from speaking. It was sometimes called Dame's Bridle, or Scold's Bridle. This type of torture was commonly used on scolding housewives, or to silence someone accused of being a witch.

The breast Ripper, often used on women convicted of heresy or adultry, and was used to tear the womans breast. At times the four pronged device would either be frozen or heated to increase pain.

The victim was placed on the execution dock and then restrained so they could not move. They then had pieces of steel placed under all crutial joints in the arms and legs. A heavy wagon wheel was then dropped onto each joint and sometimes even the bone connecting them, shattering the entire structure. Then the broken, bloody limbs were braided, or woven, between the spokes of the wheel. The wheel was then hung into the air for the birds to complete the execution. This was possibly one of the most painful forms of torture practiced in Europe.

The pear was inserted into anal, vaginal, or oral orphuses, and then opened to inflict even more pain. The Spikes at the end of the object were used to tear the area to shreads.

This was the process of tieing the prisoner's arms behind their back and hanging them from a high point. The victim was then dropped several feet and stopped before reaching the ground. This would dislocate shoulders and other joints. In some cases, weights were tied to the victims ankles to intensify the pain.

During this torture, the victim's legs would be entrapped inside short planks of wood with wedges attatched on the inside. With each question asked by the inquisitor that was not answered, the planks would be struck with a hammer, driving the planks farther into the leg of the victim.

This consisted of a chair with straps on the arms and legs. The chair was suspended in the air by a retractible rotating arm. The victim was strapped to the chair and then the chair was held over body of water. The chair was then completely submerged in the water multiple times. This process was more common with female prisoners.

This was a simple strangulation device. It consisted of a post with a hole through it. a collar would go around the post and the person's neck. Then the executioner would slowly screw a spike or knife into the victim's neck.

This was a steel rod with two spikes on both ends of it. One side was jabbed into the sternum, and the other into the bottom of the chin, preventing the victim from speaking.

This was a common torture. The victim would be placed flat on the ground, then a board or piece of flat metal would be placed on top of the victim. Next weights or rocks would be placed on top of the board, slowly squeezing the victim.

This was another form of ripping. It was used to tear off the testicles or breasts of victims.

There were many different types of thumb screws. Some would consist of the crushing of the thumb between two hard surfaces by the tightening of a screw, and some would consist of screws being forced through the skin surrounding the thumb and attaching it to a piece of wood.

This was commonly used on witches accused of being pregnant with Satan's child. The victim was hung upside down by her legs. Then a two person saw was used to saw her in two, longways. The victim would usually only live until the saw reached the navel.

Here the victim was hung into the air by various ropes and dropped onto a point. This completely destroying the genital area. This process could be done with weights on the victim's arms or legs, and could be done multiple times.

This was used mostly for witches, but was sometimes used for others. Hanging by the neck was most common, in which the neck would most likely be broken. Hanging by other parts of the body, suck as breasts, wrists, or testicles was a more painful and slow form of torture.

This was the process of inserting a steak or post through the entire body of the victim, starting at the seat of the body and exiting through the mouth or throat.

The dungeon was generally damp, dark, vermin infested, and it smelled badly. A prisoner would be fed moldy bread and stale water if lucky. During an average day the screams of other prisoners could be heard echoing throughout the dungeon walls. They would see the vermin and insects crawling around their starving bodies. A prisoner would encounter this everyday.

One of the most famous places of torture during the middle ages was the Tower of London. It was used for many different things but most famous for it's dungeon. The most common torture at the tower of London was prabably the Rack.

The inquisition was formed to extract confessions. It was used mainly on heretics. Possibly one of the most famous inquisitorial techniques was of Bernard Gui, A Inquisitioner in the middle ages.

Anglo Clareno, a member of the Franciscan Order, told about a medieval torture session.

During the inquisition session, a victim is interrogated. First the inquisitioner would ask a question, then the accused would answer. If there is no answer, or the answer is not satisfactory the accused could suffer torture until a sufficient answer is given, wether true or not. After the session is over, the victim may be tortured for his confession of crime, or may be set free.

There were many different crimes that a person would be tortured for, the most popular being Heresy. If a person is not paying taxes, has commited adulty, any type of crime could be punished with torture.

A great portion of our information came from Weid's Link to the middle ages. This is a great site with lots of information on almost anything that happened in the middle ages.

This page had lots of useful information on torture devices, and how they were used.

We learned a lot from this page, giving spacific devices and telling how they were used, and giving examples of who they were used on, and when.

We would especialy like to thank FORTUNECITY for giving us the space for this site.